WORCESTER, Mass. – A dominant second half push by No. 2 seeded Holy Cross (22-8, 13-5 PL) was what sealed the end of the season for the No. 7 seed American University women's basketball team (9-22, 7-11 PL) in the Patriot League tournament quarterfinals. The Crusaders outscored the Eagles 42-20 in the second half to take the 73-44 win to advance to the semi-finals.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Lauren Stack had 10 of her 16 points by the halftime break, along with six rebounds. She finished the night with 11 boards while also grabbing one assist and two steals. She finished with a double-double, her third of the season.
• Junior guard Ivy Bales had another stat-sheet filling night with a six-point performance on the night. She also had six rebounds, three steals, and one assist.
• Senior guard Sadie Stetson also finished with six points, as well as a team-leading four steals, along with two assists, and three rebounds.
• The Crusaders were led by Janelle Allen with 19 points and a team-leading seven rebounds. Bronagh Power-Cassidy and Cara McCormack both followed up Allen's night with 12 points apiece of their own.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The game started with the Eagles taking the first two baskets and Bales claiming the first two rebounds, to put the Eagles up 4-0 before Holy Cross fought back, at the media timeout with 4:31 left to play in the first, American led the game 6-4.  
• Stack already had three rebounds to her name. By the end of the first period, she led with six total rebounds; she also had an assist and a steal.
• Through one, the game was knotted at 10-all. Bales had six points and two steals and three rebounds. Janelle Allen led for Holy Cross with four points.
• Emily Johns was in four trouble early, earning her third with 8:33 left to play before the half.
• Holy Cross scraped ahead by the media timeout with 6:08 left in the second period, up 13-19 over the Eagles. Allen had six points, and the Crusaders were balancing out their offensive attack.
• It was Stack who broke the Eagles four-and-a-half minute scoring drought in the middle of the second before then grabbing an and-1 to bring the game back to a single possession difference, the Eagles down 18-21.
• Stetson got herself into the game with a three point play the put AU up 24-23 over the Crusaders, but then Holy Cross went on an 8-0 run to end the first half, topping out 24-31 going into the break. Stack had 10 points and six rebounds through the first 20 minutes.
• Johns picked up her fourth foul at the first media timeout of the second half, 4:56 left to play in the third frame. It was and even 6-all run in the second half, but Holy Cross started the half with four turnovers to AU's two.
• It was a 10-2 run with the advantage to Holy Cross when the third period ended that had the Crusaders up over American 32-47 with ten final minutes to play in the contest.
• The fourth saw Holy Cross open with a 9-0 run to jump out to a dominant 56-33 lead before Stetson broke up the run with a three-pointer.
• The Eagles couldn't mount a comeback though, and would be outscored 26-12 in the final frame, 40-20 in the second half, to fall to the No. 2 seeded Crusaders in the Patriot League quarterfinals.

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